Case and point. There is a girl stationed here with me, who used to have a Ninja ZX6. She is the kind that loves the attention of being a girl on a sport bike. The kind that rides around in 3 inch heel knee high boots, and makes sure to always be coordinating. She also always had a chip on her shoulder and bragged that she was a really good rider and used to ride a Hayabusa and bla bla blah.

Well she sold the 600 and bought a 1k. I asked her why and she said she was tired of not being able to keep up with everyone else. I told her that I ride a 600 and don't have a problem keeping up, and she didn't like that. But anyways, we FINALLY got her out to the track. It was the scariest shit ever watching her on board video. This girl had no idea what she was doing, and obviously had no idea how to ride. She was getting passed by 500s on the straight aways, wasn't rev matching down shifts, and ended up crashing on the second day.

Bottom line was she got a 1k cause everyone else had one and she wanted to be badass, but she had no business on one.

I just deal with too much of the typical Busa/1k who think they are gods gift to riding. I always tell them to come out to the track and see who's faster but they always have plenty of excuses lol.

Track record was set by a WMRRA racer, not a novice rider. Even the liter bike racers weren't faster. But it is a new track, and the fastest line is still up for debate. They anticipate the track record will be somewhere in the 1:30's (currently at 1:41.) It was set by this guy:http://www.wmrra.com/racerprofiles/p...er=Eli-Edwards

Gives me hope, as he's a little bit older than me! So old guys can go fast!

scott, having not been to that track and not having raced there i won't comment. but having raced at big willow, button willow, laguna seca, sears point (now infineon), thunder hill and various other tracks. all of these track records are held by liter bikes (discounting the pro circuits like SBK and MGP obviously, but still counting the likes of AFM Superbike).

Case and point. There is a girl stationed here with me, who used to have a Ninja ZX6. She is the kind that loves the attention of being a girl on a sport bike. The kind that rides around in 3 inch heel knee high boots, and makes sure to always be coordinating. She also always had a chip on her shoulder and bragged that she was a really good rider and used to ride a Hayabusa and bla bla blah.

Well she sold the 600 and bought a 1k. I asked her why and she said she was tired of not being able to keep up with everyone else. I told her that I ride a 600 and don't have a problem keeping up, and she didn't like that. But anyways, we FINALLY got her out to the track. It was the scariest shit ever watching her on board video. This girl had no idea what she was doing, and obviously had no idea how to ride. She was getting passed by 500s on the straight aways, wasn't rev matching down shifts, and ended up crashing on the second day.

Bottom line was she got a 1k cause everyone else had one and she wanted to be badass, but she had no business on one.

I just deal with too much of the typical Busa/1k who think they are gods gift to riding. I always tell them to come out to the track and see who's faster but they always have plenty of excuses lol.

not sure where the culture went so wrong, because when i grew up riding everyone was taking it to the track. grew up idolizing rainey and schwantz (shwantz guy here). we wanted to imitate the biaggi and rossi battles. we wanted to track, that was the ultimate. now riding has become such a fashion statement, it's lame.

I don't disagree with anything you guys are saying - but you'll find the same thing with cars. There are people with 328s that would probably spank some m3 or porsche 911 drivers around the track.

I'll never forget when I was a young kid my dad took me to this Porsche Car Club of America Track event with his older 911 that he personally did on the wrenching on. The guy he was next to had a brand new 911 (964 at that time) and my dad was excited to talk to the guy about it. As they talked it was clear the guy was an idiot and even worse knew nothing about the car. Reason I mention it is that this is not something that's new with cars or motorcycles.

It's just a way of life I suppose and some people will always talk a big game. I've never ridden a bike on the track (have with cars), but after the Alps trip I took... I could ride on those roads everyday and forever be satisfied. Below is raw video I took on one of the passes in the Dolomites. Completely unfamiliar road on a rented bike... Man, if I were a local I'd run up and down that stretch every day - A lot of fun

All that said I still thoroughly enjoy dirt bikes and off-road riding. That's what I grew up with. Not sure how many dirt bikers are out there on this forum.

Cheers everyone ride safe and just enjoy yourselves - my 0.02.

One up side if that at least these types of people are supporting the motorcycle industry. Otherwise there would probably be a more limited selection of bikes, gear, etc.

not sure where the culture went so wrong, because when i grew up riding everyone was taking it to the track. grew up idolizing rainey and schwantz (shwantz guy here). we wanted to imitate the biaggi and rossi battles. we wanted to track, that was the ultimate. now riding has become such a fashion statement, it's lame.

I WISH I had been more able to see and appreciate the Schwantz, Lawson, Rainey, Gardner era.

THAT was racing. None of this crying about an unfair pass or the machinery being to blame.

I actually met Kevin Schwantz last year in the Tech 3 Hospitality trailer at the Valencia MotoGP. We talked for a little while and watched the Moto3 Warm-Up. Awesome guy. Hoping to get to his school at some point once I get back to the states.

In hindsight, pretty crazy how talkative he was considering this was right after we lost Marco Simoncelli (RIP SIC).

Edit: Almost forgot to mention the kings....Roberts and Roberts JR. Talk about some crazy bastards.

Looking forward to Eric Buells first mass production bike out of his own plant. Bout time America puts an entry into the market...hopefully it has the electronics to make it competitive with the other bikes in its price range.

So this morning I pull up to a light. A car and an SUV in front of me, so I can't see whats in front of them. I'm running super late. Light turns green, 10-15 seconds go by, but no one is moving. I honk. No one is moving. Meanwhile the lane next to me gets an opening, so i switch lanes and proceed. Turns out the other lane is blocked by some douchebag on an old Yamaha, who stalled and could not figure out how to start it up again. I saw him hit the starter button and bike launched forward, because it was still in gear and he was too dumb to hold the clutch when hitting starter button. Hilarious shit.

I pull up to the next light, this dude finally catches on, pulls up next to me and knocks on my front passenger window. I open up and he goes "Try to be less of a cunt next time". I go "Sounds to me like you are the cunt who doesn't know how ride your own bike". Light turns green, he goes "Fuck you, asshole!" tries to take off and stalls the bike again. I almost pissed my pants.

Moral of the story, boys, is that 10 grand and 10 miles don't make you a biker.

Before you jump at me for being an asshole bike hater, i've been riding my entire life, worked at a bike shop for 3 years and I always move over and let a bike pass me, when sharing a lane. I just hate cocky assholes who think that 10 miles they ride on a weekend make them a biker.

So this morning I pull up to a light. A car and an SUV in front of me, so I can't see whats in front of them. I'm running super late. Light turns green, 10-15 seconds go by, but no one is moving. I honk. No one is moving. Meanwhile the lane next to me gets an opening, so i switch lanes and proceed. Turns out the other lane is blocked by some douchebag on an old Yamaha, who stalled and could not figure out how to start it up again. I saw him hit the starter button and bike launched forward, because it was still in gear and he was too dumb to hold the clutch when hitting starter button. Hilarious shit.

I pull up to the next light, this dude finally catches on, pulls up next to me and knocks on my front passenger window. I open up and he goes "Try to be less of a cunt next time". I go "Sounds to me like you are the cunt who doesn't know how ride your own bike". Light turns green, he goes "Fuck you, asshole!" tries to take off and stalls the bike again. I almost pissed my pants.

Moral of the story, boys, is that 10 grand and 10 miles don't make you a biker.

Before you jump at me for being an asshole bike hater, i've been riding my entire life, worked at a bike shop for 3 years and I always move over and let a bike pass me, when sharing a lane. I just hate cocky assholes who think that 10 miles they ride on a weekend make them a biker.

Agreed. Most "Bikers" don't know jack about their bike nor do they even know how to remotely exploit what the bike is capable of doing. They are too busy trying to look cool and their rides consist of going to the local starbucks and back. They have no idea what the sportbike underneath them is capable of and what its underlying purpose is. Quite pathetic and sad. I feel bad for the bike in these kind of cases because it just isn't being ridden as it's supposed to be.

Agreed. Most "Bikers" don't know jack about their bike nor do they even know how to remotely exploit what the bike is capable of doing. They are too busy trying to look cool and their rides consist of going to the local starbucks and back. They have no idea what the sportbike underneath them is capable of and what its underlying purpose is. Quite pathetic and sad. I feel bad for the bike in these kind of cases because it just isn't being ridden as it's supposed to be.

just the opposite.

some people are quite aware of what their sportbikes are capable of and are quite aware of what they can do with them.

you're implying that it's sad that someone that owns a sportbike isn't riding it to it's fullest capabilities while going to get Starbucks....

so if "person X" doesn't lean his bike, drag knee and hit 100mph in less than 7 seconds while going to get Starbucks, that is sad and pathetic !?!?

Hey just to play Diavel's Advocate here, he WAS on an old Yamaha, and could have been a new rider...

I did that my first months of riding many times over, minus the attitude. One time I was so nervous on a left turn that was turning red, I stalled my GS500 'old Suzuki' then got it started, overcompensated with throttle, and binned it right into the opposite street corner.

It takes time for new riders to get comfortable. This was before my club racing days and it took a lot to become a good rider, having never ridden any dirt bikes and having never really driven a manual tranny car before I got my first streetbike. So I was not only learning how to ride, but also how to operate the clutch, shift, etc.

The MSF course I took had us riding 125 Hondas and never above 2nd gear. Take that to the real world with drivers impatiently waiting while you just stalled your bike, and it is an intimidating situation for any new rider.

That being said the attitude doesn't win this guy any medals, as it's important to know one's place in the automotive food chain and know when to keep one's mouth shut.

Just sayin', though, he could just have been a new rider and at least he wasn't on a Hayabusa. Those are the guys to watch out for, because they don't know that they don't know anything, and you can't possibly tell them any different!

some people are quite aware of what their sportbikes are capable of and are quite aware of what they can do with them.

you're implying that it's sad that someone that owns a sportbike isn't riding it to it's fullest capabilities while going to get Starbucks....

so if "person X" doesn't lean his bike, drag knee and hit 100mph in less than 7 seconds while going to get Starbucks, that is sad and pathetic !?!?

that's openly retarded....

Agree with you to some extent.

Look at all the M3 drivers that DD their cars. Are they idiots for driving the car on the street despite it being much more capable on the track?

I revert back to my early comment in this thread. People that are grouchy about sport bike guys buying them just to look "cool" should be happy... as without these people the market for bikes and aftermarket support wouldn't be what is actually is.

Look at all the M3 drivers that DD their cars. Are they idiots for driving the car on the street despite it being much more capable on the track?

I revert back to my early comment in this thread. People that are grouchy about sport bike guys buying them just to look "cool" should be happy... as without these people the market for bikes and aftermarket support wouldn't be what is actually is.

To each their own. Enjoy your riding style and be safe.

i agree as well.

i have a rare firebreathing Inaugural Edition 470hp Challenger that gets daily driven with 2 child seats in the back....

is it sad and pathetic that i don't leave a few streaks of smoking rubber when i leave every stop light - because that's what the car is capable of doing !?!?

is it sad and pathetic that i don't hit 180mph on my way to get may haircut on Sundays !?!?